Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino says it was “a surprise” for him that Ben Chilwell played both games for England during the international break as the Argentine coach did not seem happy with Gareth Southgate.
The left-back has had injury issues this season and played 67 minutes against Brazil and then completed the full match against Belgium on Tuesday night. Southgate did not have many options for the role as Luke Shaw was not in the squad due to injury and it seems now that Chelsea have suffered as a result.
The 27-year-old has returned to West London injured confirmed Pochettino on Thursday and the Blues manager has said that it was “a surprise” that Chilwell played both games for England and that Chelsea have to “pay” for the England manager’s decision.
When asked about his squad’s injury problems ahead of playing Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, Pochettino said via The Standard: “We still need to assess a few players like Chilwell after playing two games, he got a knock in his knee.
“Today, he wasn’t ready to train. We will see what will happen [on Friday] if he can be in the squad. Enzo has still not arrived [after playing for Argentina].
“Yes, [I was surprised]. It was a little bit of a situation that he [Chilwell] started two games and it is maybe a surprise for us but also bad luck as he got a dead leg in the last moment of the game against Belgium.
“Now we need to struggle and pay in our club. That’s more bad luck for us as we need to assess if he can be available.”
Ben Chilwell adds to Chelsea’s injury worries
In addition to Chilwell, Chelsea have several injury concerns ahead of the Burnley match as Robert Sanchez, Carney Chukwuemeka and Trevoh Chalobah also suffered setbacks during the international break. Reece James, Christopher Nkunku and Levi Colwill are still out for the Blues, meaning up to 11 players are set to miss Saturday’s match at Stamford Bridge.
The end of the season is crucial for Pochettino and his future with the last thing the Chelsea manager needs is a host of injured stars.